Track day maintenance schedule

[sweefu]

Track day maintenance schedule

Hello all!

 

This has always been an interesting topic for me, but not one I can find a lot of info on.

It would be great to get an idea of what kind of maintenance you guys do you on your cars each track day/race event. 

I'm not sure if what I am doing is enough, or overkill, or if i'm missing something critical which is important. 

I do mostly tarmac rally (up to 150km per day competitive) and some hill climbs/drifting/fun track days.

To try and keep consistency across info i'll use sub headings:

Frequency:

Work: 

 

Frequency: Small service every event (events are either 1 or 2 days long) more major checks every 3-6 months or few events if I'm driving regularly

Work: Small service: Engine oil and filter, wheels off the car and quick check for leaks/loose bolts/rubber boots, top up fluids if required

Major service: Gearbox oil, brake/clutch fluid, thorough check of all bolts/inspection of parts for wear, pull out brake pads to check rotors/calipers etc

Yearly (if not already done within 12 months): Air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, power steering fluid, coolant and diff oil (standard lsd)

 

Should I be doing things more or less often? What is your maintenance schedule like?

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

[Dale FZ1]

Every event - inspect brake pads, purge old fluid from calipers.  Spanner check caliper bolts, all suspension bolts.  Spanner check all exhaust manifold bolts, turbo fasteners. Check all I/C piping clamps. Check all exhaust system bolts, rubber hangers etc.  Scrape flange faces on hubs and wheels, remove any buildup.  Inspect rubber boots.  Stringline check of alignment, measure ride height (at each wheel).  Check shock absorber settings haven't been altered (mates or kids).

Every season (4 events for me, approx. 600 track km) - fresh engine oil, gearbox oil, diff oil. Full purge of new brake fluid for brakes and clutch.  Fuel filter inspect/clean (10 micron filter cleanable).  New spark plugs. Spanner check driveshaft bolts. Clean/reoil K&N air filter.

Every second season - fresh ATF for power steering. fresh coolant.

Always - look carefully at stuff and fix any obvious problem or something that is loose, vibrating, rattling.  Anywhere that is subjected to a lot of heat is where the most attention is focused.

None of this stuff is too hard, it's not like we are running gravel rallies.

[MrStabby]

Now that my car is reliable at the track, all i do is; 

- Keep an eye on pad material, and I like to have a spare new set as this allows me to use more of the pad before the change as I know if I did suddenly go all the way through, i can just put the new pads on. Brake fluid is bled regularly to keep the pedal feel. I never do a full flush as it cycles through quickly enough that i believe its not required. I have just done a full flush to change from Nulon to RBF600, as i want to avoid having to do any bleeding at the track.

- Re oil, I run Mobil1 0W-40 or Nulon 10W-40, and change it at maybe 3-4000kms - I will get it tested next time to see how its holding up. I overfill to the bump on the dipstick, and check/top up every session. For gear oils, full synthetics should be ok to be run at 3x the change interval you'd use for minerals. I only use full synth, and last did the gearbox at about 20,000kms, but it has been topped up due to shockproof's tendency to breath. Diff oil has probably been there for about 30,000km. I need to pull it out to do the bushes so will do it again when i do that. For power steer, since boiling fluid can be an issue, again use full synth due to the higher boiling point. I guess double the change interval over what you'd use for mineral. I dont think i've changed the power steer fluid for quite some time, but its never boiled and gets topped up a bit due to a leak in the rack.

- Coolant gets a really hard time, so do that every 10,000 and NEVER put any tap water in. IIRC a 6 liter green coolant pretty much fills it, so I dont think i add any water at all. Of course only distilled if required. Redline water wetter cools a little better than the usual stuff...

- Plugs get done whenever there's any imperfect running... Platinums have been fine for at least 40,000kms and coppers 15,000kms, but depends on usage and tune.

- I dont need to check for loose bolts anymore - just use the correct torque setting (and lube if specified) and they should never come loose unless there's a fundamental issue (eg AFAIK rb25 hot side can get loose in the long term).

- Just use feel and tyre wear to determine if there's any alignment issues.

Anyway - start with paranoia and check everything, and then once you know what stuff never goes bad, you can back off the checks that aren't required.

[R377]

im not an expert but i bleed my brakes every track event and change oil every second event